Abattoirs

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the financial impact on small and medium-sized abattoirs of their plans to put in place a full cost recovery system.

Earl Howe: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) consulted across the United Kingdom on proposals for full cost recovery for meat official controls by removal of current discounts, with options for a phased introduction and a reduction in charges for low throughput businesses, and is committed to further reducing its costs.
	In response to comments received during the consultation, the FSA revised its proposals, deciding that full cost recovery should be introduced over a three-year period, beginning in April 2012, and that increased support should be provided for a greater number of low throughput meat establishments.
	In addition, following discussions between the FSA and HM Treasury, it has been agreed that industry in Great Britain will not bear the cost relating to the deficit in the Local Government Pension Scheme, which would have totalled £4.7 million. Therefore the FSA costs chargeable to industry will be reduced by this amount.
	The FSA is currently finalising a detailed impact assessment of its revised policy on the basis of the most recent data, and this will include a financial assessment of the impact on small and medium-sized abattoirs.

Agriculture: Farming

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many farms will be established as part of their demonstration farms programme; how they will be geographically spread across England; what purpose they will serve; and whether there will be an assessment or review after a period of time.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to include any LEAF (linking environment and farming) farms within their proposed demonstration farms project.

Lord Henley: There are a number of existing demonstration farms or sites funded by both the public and private sector, including retailers. These are geographically widespread. Examples include the linking environment and farming (LEAF) network of demonstration farms and the Beacon farms being set up under the Campaign for the Farmed Environment. Defra has been in discussion with the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB), research institutions, consultancies, NGOs and industry, including LEAF, to raise the profile and improve co-ordination of the existing demonstration activities across the country that showcase and test new techniques, products and technologies, and help translate research into practical benefits for farmers and growers. Complementary to this activity, Defra has commissioned a pilot project on improving the integration of advisory messages to farmers.

Agriculture: Farming

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will implement the recommendations of the Better Regulation Task Force chaired by Richard McDonald.

Lord Henley: Defra Ministers warmly welcome the Better Regulation Task Force's report. The Government will now carefully consider the report's recommendations, and will provide an initial public response and parliamentary Statement in Autumn 2011, followed by an updated final response in the new year 2012.

Bahrain

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will refuse applications from Bahraini students for leave to enter the United Kingdom until they receive assurances from the Government of Bahrain that they will revoke the dismissal of Shi'a professionals and restore the funding of Shi'a students in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Browning: The Immigration Rules do not allow the UK Border Agency to refuse a student visa application to an applicant who otherwise meets the rules on the grounds that Her Majesty's Government objects to the policy of the applicant's government.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether banks are on course to deliver their commitments under Project Merlin; and whether they will produce a report on progress made in due course.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are closely monitoring the banks' progress in meeting the commitments made under Project Merlin and will provide further information at the appropriate time.

Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total cost of the review into the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland commissioned by the Financial Services Authority from PricewaterhouseCoopers; and what were the terms of reference of the review.

Lord Sassoon: In May 2009, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) launched an investigation into the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to consider whether regulatory rules had been broken during the period leading up to the collapse of RBS and what, if any, action was appropriate.
	The FSA conducted the investigation with assistance from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The appointment of external advisers is a matter for the FSA, as independent regulator.
	The FSA has already released information that confirms that the fee paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers for its work on the review into RBS was £7.7 million. The FSA's general costs are recovered by levies paid by all financial firms, but in some circumstances it has the power to impose additional costs on firms for specific pieces of work. In the case of its work on RBS, the FSA did impose an additional levy on the firm.

Caste Discrimination

Lord Harries of Pentregarth: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the review in 2011 of the United Kingdom by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and its recommendation in 2003, whether they will legislate against discrimination on the basis of caste.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: In March 2010 the Government commissioned an independent report on caste prejudice and discrimination in Great Britain from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research. One of the purposes of the report was to help consideration of whether they should legislate against discrimination because of caste.
	The Government are still considering the report carefully, together with the various representations that they have subsequently received from a range of interest groups, and will announce their conclusions on whether or not to legislate against discrimination because of caste in due course.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will strengthen the voluntary responsibility placed on schools to support the health and well-being of children with medical needs, especially those with fluctuating conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, by requiring all schools to implement medical condition policies.

Lord Hill of Oareford: There is already a legal duty on schools to promote the well-being of their pupils. Within that, it is for school governing bodies and local authorities, rather than central government, to determine their policies on supporting pupils with medical needs. Good schools and local authorities will work with parents and local health services so that the medical needs of children, such as those with chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), are met while they are at school.
	As the Department for Education said in the Schools White Paper, entitled The Importance of Teaching, good schools have a vital role as promoters of health and well-being in the local community, and have always had good pastoral systems. They understand well the connections between pupils' physical and mental health and their educational achievement. The Government believe that much of the important work that schools do is not as a result of central prescription and so have no plans to change the existing arrangements or to bring forward new legislative proposals.
	This department, together with the Department of Health, provides guidance for schools in Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years (published in 2005). This recommends, among other things, that there should be a clear policy in each school, an individual health care plan for any child with medical needs, and training for staff. The guidance can be found at: www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/ publicationdetail/pagel/DFES-1448-2005.
	We encourage other organisations, such as employer and staff associations and charities such as the ME Association, to play their part in supporting schools and parents and in sharing good practice.

Common Agricultural Policy

Lord Willoughby de Broke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the agreement by the French and Dutch Ministers of Agriculture that the Common Agricultural Policy budget should remain at least at its current levels in the next European Union 2014-20 budget.

Lord Henley: We need to recall that there are considerable constraints on public spending across the EU, as well as at home. At 43 per cent of the EU budget, CAP cannot be immune to the hard choices being made elsewhere. There must, therefore, be a very substantial cut to the CAP budget during the next financial framework.
	We are working constructively with all EU partners to progress genuine and farsighted reform. In a smaller overall budget, future CAP expenditure should tackle the key objectives of encouraging a competitive, sustainable EU agriculture sector able to respond to climate change challenges, reducing reliance on subsidies and focusing resources on the provision of environmental public goods.

Enterprise Zones

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the devolved Administrations about the introduction of enterprise zones in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Baroness Hanham: Officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government have discussed enterprise zone policy with officials from the Wales Office and the Scottish Executive.
	HM Treasury set out in advance of the Budget the Government's commitment to working with the devolved Administrations in establishing enterprise zones if they so wish. The Government have made funding available in the \budget to support enterprise zones in the devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula.

Equality

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 26 April (WA 40), why they do not include dealing with tax avoidance and evasion by United Kingdom taxpayers in the five key areas for promoting equality in British society.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The equality strategy sets out our general approach, highlighting our strong commitment to social mobility and a tax system that helps the lowest paid. The strategy does not set out a detailed programme of work.
	In the 2011 Budget, we set out our new anti-avoidance strategy and announced a package of measures to bring in £4 billion over the course of this Parliament. In addition, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs spending review settlement included significant investment of £900 million to tackle tax avoidance and evasion over the spending review period, including funding for a team of specialists focusing on avoidance by the wealthy.

Government: Red Tape Challenge

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government why their Red Tape Challenge invites the public to respond on whether the Equality Act 2010 should be scrapped.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Red Tape Challenge aims to take a comprehensive approach, looking widely at regulation, whether introduced through primary or secondary legislation or other means. It seeks views on where regulation is working well, as well as where they are imposing unnecessary burdens on businesses, members of the public or voluntary organisations or restricting personal freedoms.
	The Equality Act 2010 is included as part of that overall legislation and the same standard questions are asked as for other sections on the website. It is not the Government's intention to abolish the Equality Act.
	The Government want to hear from members of the public, business and voluntary and community organisations about how the Act is working in practice. We want to know whether the Act could be simplified, better implemented, if certain provisions should be dropped or amended or whether it should be kept exactly as it is.

Gypsies and Travellers

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hanham on 28 March (WA 216-17), when they placed a copy of their reply to the letter from the chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in the Library of the House.

Baroness Hanham: Three letters relevant to the noble Baroness's earlier Question were lodged in the Library of the House on 28 March. We regret that due to an oversight the Government's reply to the letter from the chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was not lodged with the other letters. I can now confirm that the document in question was placed in the Library on 24 May.

Healthcare: Costs

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much in sterling was paid to and received from Poland in the past three years for medical and healthcare costs under European social security regulations for Polish nationals resident in the United Kingdom and British citizens resident in Poland; and on what numbers of such residents the figures were based.

Earl Howe: In the financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10, the United Kingdom paid the sterling equivalent of £3,916,040.31 to Poland for British residents receiving treatment in Poland as tourists, workers temporarily posted to Poland by a UK employer or those accessing planned treatment in Poland. The department is unable to disaggregate total numbers or nationality of individuals to which these payments relate. Poland has not made any payments to the UK in these years.
	No payments were made between the UK and Poland in respect of state pensioners living in each of the countries.
	Within the European Union, migrant workers are subject to the health legislation of the country in which they live and work.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 26 April (WA 53), what assessment they have made of Israel's compliance with the quartet principles.

Lord Howell of Guildford: When Hamas won parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories in January 2006, the quartet issued the following statement which formed the basis of the quartet principles:
	"It is the view of the quartet that all members of a future Palestinian Government must be committed to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, Including the road map".
	The quartet principles were clearly intended to refer to the Palestinian Authority Government, and not Israel. We regularly call on Israel to uphold its obligations under international law and road map commitments.

Libya

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering any action to assist the international community in the apprehension of Muammar Gaddafi.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We welcome the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's announcement that he will apply for arrest warrants for Colonel Gaddafi, Saif al Islam al Qadhafi and Abdullah al Senussi. It is now for the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber judges to consider the prosecutor's request.
	The request for these warrants is a reminder to Gaddafi, and all in his regime, that crimes will not go unpunished and the reach of international justice is long. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 stated that the Libyan authorities shall co-operate fully with the ICC and provide any necessary assistance to the court. We again urge all states, whether parties to the Rome statute or not, to offer their full co-operation and assistance to the ICC.
	Under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's military mandate is to take action to protect civilians and civilian areas. We, and our international partners, are determined to fulfil that mandate. Eighteen nations are contributing aircraft or maritime assets to the region and, in total, 34 nations are either providing or offering various kinds of support, assistance and humanitarian relief.

Madeleine McCann

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated cost of the police review of the Madeleine McCann case; where its funding will come from; whether arrangements for the review were discussed with the government of Portugal; and what assessment they have made of the possibility of the discovery of valuable new leads in relation to the disappearance.

Baroness Browning: Since Madeleine McCann's disappearance, the Government have continued to liaise with the Portuguese authorities, and the police here have followed up any leads and passed information to the Portuguese as appropriate. The involvement of the Metropolitan Police Service is part of that continuing UK contribution to the search for Madeleine.
	The nature and scope of the work that the Metropolitan Police Service is undertaking will depend on its officers' operational assessment of how best their expertise might be used in progressing the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. That assessment is at an early stage and it is therefore not possible to estimate the likely costs, but the Home Office will provide necessary funding, which will be subject to regular review.

Madeleine McCann

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the Prime Minister's intervention in the Madeleine McCann case, whether they will make periodic reports to Parliament on the level of resources and costs to United Kingdom police forces of their investigation of the case.

Baroness Browning: The Home Secretary's request to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, supported by the Prime Minister, asking that the Metropolitan Police bring its expertise to the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is based on the sincere hope that Madeleine is still alive. While that operational work continues it would be inappropriate to give what, in effect, would be a partial running commentary on its progress. The Home Secretary will, however, make available the total central funding provided to the Metropolitan Police to cover the costs of the operation when the work is completed.

Mayors

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many representations they have received on their proposals for shadow mayors; and how many were (a) supportive, and (b) not supportive.

Baroness Hanham: We have received many comments about the effectiveness of shadow mayors, including a number of representations to my department.
	My honourable friend the Member for Hazel Grove indicated at Report stage of the Localism Bill in the other place that we would listen carefully to the points made on such issues as shadow mayors and we are now reflecting on what we have heard and intend to come back to these matters when the Bill is considered in this House.

Party Conferences: Costs

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 11 May (WA 219), what criteria will be used when considering the application from the South Yorkshire Police for funding to help towards the policing costs of the Liberal Democrats' spring conference in Sheffield.

Baroness Browning: General guidance to forces on special grant sets out broad criteria against which applications will be assessed. These include evidence that the additional expenditure would otherwise create a serious threat to the authority's financial stability and/or where the costs incurred exceed a minimum of 1 per cent of the force annual budget. This, however, is only guidance for forces and does not fetter the power of Ministers to make or decline to make grants in these or other circumstances.

Police: Funding

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the impact of police funding cuts on crime figures.

Baroness Browning: The Government do not accept that reductions in police funding will impact on crime rates; what matters is how resources are used and prioritised. We believe that police forces can make savings while maintaining or improving the service they provide to the public.

Public Expenditure

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what they consider to be a prudent limit applicable to the new Budget Exchange system referred to in the Red Book on the 2011 Budget.

Lord Sassoon: Details of the new Budget Exchange system, including the limits that will be set on the carry-forward of underspends, will be published in an update to the 2011-12 Consolidated Budgeting Guidance. This will be published in advance of the Supplementary Estimates.

Public Expenditure

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to apply the Budget Exchange system in the same way across all departments of Government, including the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Lord Sassoon: The new Budget Exchange system will apply to the devolved Administrations as well as UK departments in Government. However, no annual cap will apply to the devolved Administrations, unlike UK departments.

Railways: Northern Rail Franchise

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for reducing the average age in rolling stock on the Northern Rail franchise, given that the average age of trains is now 25.7 years.

Earl Attlee: The Government confirmed the electrification of the routes Liverpool to Manchester via Newton-le-Willows, Huyton-Wigan, Preston to Blackpool and Manchester to Preston in November 2010. This will enable younger electric trains to operate on these routes. Future use of rolling stock on the Northern Rail franchise will be for the bidders to propose.

Schools: GCSEs

Lord Adonis: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will specify academy projects, for which statements of intent or expressions of interest have been submitted since May 2010, in respect of secondary schools securing five or more GCSE grades at A* to C including English and Maths for fewer than 40 per cent of their pupils in 2010; and whether they will specify the sponsor and the status of those projects.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The Government are publishing shortly on the Department for Education's website the list of all sponsored academy projects in development. In addition to covering projects that replace predecessor schools with GCSE results below 40 per cent 5 A* to C, including English and Maths, the list will also include projects in relation to primary schools and projects which constitute new provision where there is no predecessor school. The list will cover projects with an approved statement of intent or which are at a more advanced stage of development, and will include both the sponsor of each project and the stage of development that the project has reached. In addition, the department publishes on its website a copy of the expression of interest and the funding agreement for each project once they are approved. The department will keep the list updated on a monthly basis.

Somalia

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Somalia to seek relocation of the British Office for Somalia, currently based in Nairobi, to Mogadishu and to reopen it as a British embassy.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government have made no formal representations yet to the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia regarding the relocation of the British Office for Somalia to Mogadishu, and its reopening as a British embassy.
	As my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary said in his Statement to Parliament on 11 May, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has "made provision within our budget to open a new embassy in Somalia when the security situation has improved sufficiently". We will monitor the security situation with a view to relocation when circumstances permit.

South Wales Police

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many written apologies have been issued by the chief constable of South Wales Police in each of the past six years resulting from failure to deal with complaints against officers lodged in accordance with the appropriate complaints procedure.

Baroness Browning: This information is not held centrally and is a matter for the South Wales police authority.

Syria

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are considering in partnership with international partners to address the recent unrest in Syria.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK has circulated a draft UN Security Council Resolution condemning the repression in Syria and calling for the Syrian Government to meet their people's legitimate demands, release all prisoners of conscience, lift restrictions on the media and internet and co-operate with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. A resolution is not in our gift and needs the support of nine UN Security Council members and no vetoes. We are working to persuade other countries that the Security Council has a responsibility to speak out.
	This follows our successful efforts to agree EU sanctions against President Assad and other individuals responsible for the violence and repression in Syria. We are exploring with our European partners the potential for further sanctions if the violence continues.

Violence against Women

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Browning on 18 May (WA 354), which articles of the Council of Europe Convention against Violence to Women give rise to concerns; and for what reasons.

Baroness Browning: We are currently in the process of giving detailed consideration to every article in the final version of the convention adopted on 7 April 2011. We need to ensure that the convention, if implemented in the UK, would not have unintended or undesirable consequences. A decision on signature and ratification will be made in due course.